Conspiracy Theory

[2014olympicgold]

Carolina has pretty low tax as well.

Here's the taxes on an $8,000,000 contract in the 4 states:
Florida/Vegas/Dallas - $2,920,332
Carolina - $3,300,332

And for comparison some Canadian Teams:
Toronto/Ottawa - $4,240,721
Montreal - $4,237,104
Winnipeg - $4,001,185
Edmonton - $3,802,432

NJD - $4,405,047 (The highest in the league)
Seattle - $2,920,332

[TrailerParkFlyers]

I'd also say coincidence but it's funny that a Canadian team hasn't won a Stanley Cup in 30 years, the same number of years that Bettman has been Commish. Also a coincidence, or is it?? LOL!

I don't think any of this is a conspiracy theory but the slant to cater to US viewers/fans is not a fluke. Sunday's Oilers-Knights game started at 10 pm ET. The game was on ESPN which has Sunday night baseball so apparently that was the reason for the late Sunday start. I may too simple to understand but how many US fans are actually watching hockey at 10 pm ET? Wouldn't it be better to have the game in primetime on a Sunday night so at least you get the Eastern Canadian fans watching? Isn't that better than no one watching in the East? ESPN has a lot of channels. I am sure one of them had space for a hockey game prior to 10 pm ET.

[TrailerParkFlyers]

Edmonton had four first overall picks. Their bad drafting/development of all of those picks isn't Bettman's doing. I am pretty sure any other team with that many first overall picks would have won a couple of cups whether they were in Canada or the US.

[tweetdrivr]

ESPN still views hockey as a second tier sport. It’s as simple as that. Most Americans do not follow it. The US has a population of about 350 million people. Most Canadians do follow hockey. Canada has 40 million people. And the NHL is run about as ineptly as is possible. ESPN is not.

[LawMan]

I am a huge Bettman defender. I will not say supporter because he is an annoying little weasel.
However I do think he has been the necessary evil to be good for the game.

As an Oiler fan I will always credit Bettman for doing everything in his power to keep the team in Edmonton at a time when the league had no cap, the Canadian dollar was $0.60 vs. the USD and the Nordiques had just left.
Also, he fought for and won the hard salary cap, which I firmly believe makes the NHL far more competitive across 32 teams and allows small market fans to believe their team can compete year in and out.

As far as the Cup drought, it certainly is a long one.
First, the drought needs to be divided into pre-cap and post-cap.
pre-cap only the Maple Leafs, and to a lesser extent the Habs were able to compete with the big market teams in the late 90s and early 2000s.

post-cap all 30-32 teams have a chance to win and certainly the Canadian teams have underperformed.
If you were in charge of the league and able to control the outcomes I would think you would go 2 "non-traditional" markets and then 1 traditional market.
The non-traditional market wins grow the game, and the traditional market wins make bank....

Not a conspiracy just a lack of successful management and bad play/luck on the ice.
I do find it funny that Vegas is the most northern team left... I assumed it was Carolina but I guess the East coast throws it off.

[LawMan]

I don't think any of this is a conspiracy theory but the slant to cater to US viewers/fans is not a fluke. Sunday's Oilers-Knights game started at 10 pm ET. The game was on ESPN which has Sunday night baseball so apparently that was the reason for the late Sunday start. I may too simple to understand but how many US fans are actually watching hockey at 10 pm ET? Wouldn't it be better to have the game in primetime on a Sunday night so at least you get the Eastern Canadian fans watching? Isn't that better than no one watching in the East? ESPN has a lot of channels. I am sure one of them had space for a hockey game prior to 10 pm ET.

I was watching in Canada but saw various tweets that viewers either:
1. missed the first 3 goals of the game because baseball was still on; or
2. saw a split-screen between Hockey and Baseball.

I know the baseball game was a blowout but as I recall all sports TV contracts say that the network is required to show the completion of the first game before going to the second game, this is less of an issue now that all providers have multiple channels but again the decision to keep the baseball game on was outside ESPN's control.

[2014olympicgold]

I don't think any of this is a conspiracy theory but the slant to cater to US viewers/fans is not a fluke. Sunday's Oilers-Knights game started at 10 pm ET. The game was on ESPN which has Sunday night baseball so apparently that was the reason for the late Sunday start. I may too simple to understand but how many US fans are actually watching hockey at 10 pm ET? Wouldn't it be better to have the game in primetime on a Sunday night so at least you get the Eastern Canadian fans watching? Isn't that better than no one watching in the East? ESPN has a lot of channels. I am sure one of them had space for a hockey game prior to 10 pm ET.

They had the Leafs game 6 scheduled at 7pm, then Oilers/King at 10pm. After the Leafs were eliminated the NHL approached ESPN and asked them to flex the Oilers/King game and they said no.

ESPN had Sunday Night Baseball at 7pm, and an NBA playoff game in the afternoon. I'm sure ESPN probably asked them to have the start times of scheduled games adjusted to accommodate everything and the NHL likely said "Leafs will play at 7pm". So when it came back to ESPN they said "nah, we aren't helping you. You didn't help us".

This also could be ESPN not being happy with the fact the NHL wanted games on Sundays. If they had scheduled games to have the Leafs on Saturday, this wouldn't have happened even lol.

The NHL has a big issue with their TV deal I think in this. They are low on the pecking order, but also set themselves up to that by signing the deal. ESPN/NHL came to terms on a 7yr deal in 2021, and Rogers/NHL came to terms on a 12yr deal in 2014.

Another issue...The NHL signed a deal with a broadcaster in ESPN that also had the NBA and MLB broadcasting rights when the NHL used to be with NBC before this deal. They're the new kid in the group too.

[rataylor22]

Grand conspiracies are funny, because all you need to do is consider the scope of implementing them for a moment or two to realize how impossible and farcical it is for them to occur and be kept secret.

[LawMan]

They had the Leafs game 6 scheduled at 7pm, then Oilers/King at 10pm. After the Leafs were eliminated the NHL approached ESPN and asked them to flex the Oilers/King game and they said no.

ESPN had Sunday Night Baseball at 7pm, and an NBA playoff game in the afternoon. I'm sure ESPN probably asked them to have the start times of scheduled games adjusted to accommodate everything and the NHL likely said "Leafs will play at 7pm". So when it came back to ESPN they said "nah, we aren't helping you. You didn't help us".

This also could be ESPN not being happy with the fact the NHL wanted games on Sundays. If they had scheduled games to have the Leafs on Saturday, this wouldn't have happened even lol.

The NHL has a big issue with their TV deal I think in this. They are low on the pecking order, but also set themselves up to that by signing the deal. ESPN/NHL came to terms on a 7yr deal in 2021, and Rogers/NHL came to terms on a 12yr deal in 2014.

Another issue...The NHL signed a deal with a broadcaster in ESPN that also had the NBA and MLB broadcasting rights when the NHL used to be with NBC before this deal. They're the new kid in the group too.

Good points.
ESPN asking for no games on Sunday, when there are 4 series going on, would be ridiculous.
The NHL is damned if they do and damned if they don't with ESPN. Given the NBA and MLB are already on ESPN they are clearly 3rd (and obviously well behind the limited NFL).
But, if the NHL is not on ESPN at all then they get next to no coverage on all the ESPN talk shows etc. which crushes any exposure to casual fans and makes it hard to get casual fan exposure.
I do not watch much ESPN but try and tape Pardon the Interruption daily. The difference between NHL talk before and after the ESPN/NHL broadcast deal was noticeable. While the hosts know next to nothing about hockey (it's laughably bad) at least the NHL gets a few segments and comments during the 30 minute show.

[2014olympicgold]

Good points.
ESPN asking for no games on Sunday, when there are 4 series going on, would be ridiculous.
The NHL is damned if they do and damned if they don't with ESPN. Given the NBA and MLB are already on ESPN they are clearly 3rd (and obviously well behind the limited NFL).
But, if the NHL is not on ESPN at all then they get next to no coverage on all the ESPN talk shows etc. which crushes any exposure to casual fans and makes it hard to get casual fan exposure.
I do not watch much ESPN but try and tape Pardon the Interruption daily. The difference between NHL talk before and after the ESPN/NHL broadcast deal was noticeable. While the hosts know next to nothing about hockey (it's laughably bad) at least the NHL gets a few segments and comments during the 30 minute show.

Oh ya, NBC wasn't growing the sport. TNT's panel is the best out there now and that's because of ESPN. I still think though, this is just the nature of their situation in ESPN. It's also early in their relationship with ESPN, it could very well be a growing point and next yr you might see an NHL game scheduled at 4pm and 8pm instead of 7pm and 10pm to avoid this.

It's too much unknown to be fully upset with the NHL in this situation. But it's also just another blemish on the road to growing the sport.

[1320kid]

Grand conspiracies are funny, because all you need to do is consider the scope of implementing them for a moment or two to realize how impossible and farcical it is for them to occur and be kept secret.

Not a study of history eh?

https://www.populismstudies.org/Vocabulary/big-lie/

Unironically, your exact mentality is what allows crazy "conspiracies" to transpire. Not saying in this particualr case i.e. NHL but in general. Not every conspiracy is true, and not every one is untrue. Just food for thought.

[hawkdog]

Playing hockey where it doesn't snow is just weird.
The only sport I watch or have any interest in is Hockey - and I have lost all interest in the playoffs now that the Canadian teams/original six are out. The second round wasn't anywhere as good as the first round.
I don't believe Bettman has any interest in seeing Canadian teams succeed. Poor cousins.
All just my opinion of course.

[rataylor22]

Not a study of history eh?

https://www.populismstudies.org/Vocabulary/big-lie/

Unironically, your exact mentality is what allows crazy "conspiracies" to transpire. Not saying in this particualr case i.e. NHL but in general. Not every conspiracy is true, and not every one is untrue. Just food for thought.

Propaganda and spreading falsehoods is completely different from a carefully orchestrated defined outcome of an event. Propaganda and Conspiracies are entirely different concepts.

[chuckcouples]

[tweetdrivr]

Went from giving Bettman a hard time over southern hockey to Hitler’s propaganda techniques. This board can really be something.